Emily DickinsonCornell Notes
Essential Question: What is important regarding Emily Dickinson and her poetry?
• Emily Dickinson was an American poet
from Amherst, Massachusetts, who
lived from 1830-1886.
• Wrote almost 1800 poems, although
only 10 were published during her
lifetime.
• Known for being a recluse (often
wearing white), who in the last 25 years
of her life rarely left her bedroom. She
never married or had children.
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in this house in
Amherst, MA on December 10, 1830. She continued to live
in the house for most of her life.
Emily’s bedroom is on second floor,
right corner. It is here where she did
most of her writing.
• Dickinson’s father was a
lawyer, and her grandfather
was one of the founders of
Amherst College.
• She attended Amherst
Academy and then went to
college at Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke
College) in 1847. She
stayed at the
Seminary for one
year, the longest she
spent away from home.
Youth & Education
Mount Holyoke
Female Seminary
After leaving college,
Dickinson wrote prolifically
on anything she could find –
paper from the stationer’s,
envelopes, scraps of
wrapping paper, and even on
the back of a chocolate
wrapper.
In 1858, Dickinson started
reviewing poems she had
written previously and began
making clean copies of her
work, assembling manuscript
books called fascicles.
Dickinson’s Writing
Reproductions of fascicles at
the Emily Dickinson Museum
Dickinson trying out a poem on
the back of a wrapper for French
baking chocolate. In addition to
writing, Dickinson was a prolific
baker.
Dickinson’s Writing
Pictures taken of Dickinson’s writings
at the Amherst College Archives
The room has recently been renovated to show things as
they would have been when Dickinson occupied the space.
The desk to the right is where
Dickinson would write most of her
poems and her letters.
Dickinson’s Bedroom
The only authenticated picture of Emily Dickinson in the one
below, was taken around 1847 when the poet was 16.
Emily Dickinson in Pictures
In 1995, the daguerreotype below was discovered, an
alleged to be Dickinson (left) with her friend Kate Scott
Turner. It has not yet been authenticated.
Emily Dickinson in Pictures
The Amherst College Archives
has a lock of hair that
Dickinson sent in a letter to
her friend: “I shall never give
you anything again that will be
half so full of sunshine as this
wee lock of hair.”
Are you surprised by the
hair color? Does it match
what you’ve learned about
Dickinson thus far?
Emily Dickinson Artifacts
In her later years, Dickinson
allegedly began wearing all
white, including this dress (a
reproduction on display at the
Emily Dickinson Museum).
What inferences do you
make about the dress? What
symbolism is there in
wearing white? What type of
dress is this? Is it to be
worn in private? Public?
How do you know?
Emily Dickinson Artifacts
Dickinson died on May 15,
1886 aged 55. The cause
of death was listed as
Bright’s Disease, known
as kidney failure
Dickinson: ”Called Back”
Dickinson: ”Called Back”
Dickinson was buried wearing a
white dress in a white coffin in the
family plot of the West Cemetery
in Amherst, MA.
• During her lifetime,
Dickinson published only 10
poems, all of them
anonymously.
• She wrote almost 1800
poems, which were
discovered after her death.
• Her sister found and
published the poems (with
help from her brother’s
mistress), but made
numerous edits.
Publishing Dickinson’s poems
The first edition of
Dickinson’s poems
Dickinson’s Poetic Style
• Emily Dickinson’s poetry is often in what is
called common meter:
• A line of four metrical feet followed by a
line of three metrical feet.
• A foot is composed of two syllables, so
using common meter would mean
having a line of eight syllables followed
by a line of six syllables.
• Iambic tetrameter
• Iambic trimeter
• An iamb means the emphasis is
placed on the second syllable of the
metric foot
Common MeterHere are some lines written how most
poets would write:
Ashes tell us that there has been a fire
So please respect the grey remains left here
Dickinson writes:
Ashes denote that fire was –
Revere the grayest pile – [F1063]
What differences do you notice
between the two types?
Dickinson The Poet
How odd the Girl’s life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse
I think that Earth feels so
To folks in Heaven – now –
[F225]
Sculpture of Emily Dickinson in Amherst, MA
The Dickinson DashIn addition to challenging the meter of
traditional English poetry, Dickinson also
challenges the rules when it comes to
punctuation. Instead of only using the obvious
punctuation marks we’re used to, she
frequently uses the dash.
A dash is a horizontal stroke in writing or
printing to mark a pause or break in sense, or
to represent omitted letters or words
A Bird came down the Walk –
He did not know I saw –
[F359]
The Dickinson DashSome literary critics claim the purpose of the
dash is to:
• Break up expected meanings
• Makes the reader work to decode the
meaning of her poems
• Take the place of up to eight words
• Can account for a change in mood
• Are a form of rebellion
• Do not communicate closure
Slant RhymeDickinson employed a lot of what is known as
slant rhyme (or sometimes half rhyme).
➔ Slant rhyme, as defined by literary critic
Helen Vendler, is: ”relation between words in
which the final consonant syllables agree but
the vowels that precede them differ”
Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—
[F314]
Slant Rhyme ReasonsCritics suggest that slant rhyme could be
used for the following purposes:
• Prevent a conclusive interpretation
• Call into question an understanding
that might be too simplistic
• Avoid creating a sing-song effect
• Create a sudden contrast
• Rebellion from the norm
CapitalizationDickinson used unconventional
capitalization, often capitalizing words in the
middle of a line, not just those at the
beginning. The reasons for this are not
exactly clear.
Possible reasons, suggested by critics:
• German, a language Dickinson knew,
typically capitalizes nouns
• To retain and give additional emphasis
on key words
• Just her handwriting?
Poetic inspiration
These gardens behind her house served as
inspiration for her poetry, as many of her
poems deal with the natural world.
Poetic ThemesThere are many recurring themes and images
in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Among them:
• Death
• The natural world
• God and religion
• The afterlife
• The possibilities of the soul
• Spiritual growth
• And yes, there are a few poems that
read like steamy love poems (but not
many)
What’s up with the titles?
Dickinson never gave any of her poems
titles. Therefore, most of her poems are
referred to by their first line.
You will also see poems referred to by a
number, which indicates the editor (Franklin)
and the order in which Dickinson wrote the
poems (based on his research of her
manuscripts).
For example: [F112] or “Success is counted
sweetest”